We have been seeing an interesting trend lately: debt buyers, without legal justification, moving for entry of a default judgment after the legal deadline. That deadline is one year after a consumer allegedly defaults in answering a complaint. The governing rule is New York CPLR § 3215.
In our case, Unifund CCR, LLC, represented by Kirschenbaum & Phillips, P.C., Unifund exceeded that deadline by nearly two years. A Westchester Supreme Court Judge was not impressed with Unifund's and Kirschenbaum's excuse that it "misplaced" the file. That excuse was not "sufficient cause" to extend the time. The judge granted our cross-motion to dismiss the case.
Another procedural delay we often see committed by debt buyers is failing to serve within 120 days of filing of the complaint. For a brief synopsis of the law, see our prior blog, "The Clock Ticks for Plaintiffs to Serve a Summons and Complaint."
If you have received any legal document (especially anything indicating a default), contact us immediately.